How Much Does a US Visa Cost From Kenya?

The U.S. visa cost from Kenya starts at $185 for the most common nonimmigrant categories, including visitor, student, and exchange visitor visas. Work, fiancé, and treaty visas cost more, and students and exchange visitors owe a second fee to a different U.S. agency. A new $250 Visa Integrity Fee, signed into law in 2025, will add to the total once it takes effect.

Application Fees by Visa Type

The Machine Readable Visa (MRV) application fee is the main upfront cost. You pay it before your interview, and you do not get it back whether your visa is approved or refused. The U.S. Department of State sets the amount by category:¹

$185 for visitor visas (B-1/B-2), student visas (F and M), exchange visitor visas (J), media visas (I), and most other non-petition categories.
$205 for petition-based work visas: H, L, O, P, Q, and R.
$265 for K-category fiancé(e) and spouse visas.
$315 for E-category treaty trader, treaty investor, and specialty occupation visas.

Fees are quoted in dollars but paid in Kenyan shillings at a consular exchange rate set by the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. The rate moves, so the KES figure you see at checkout may differ from what you saw a week earlier.

The New Visa Integrity Fee

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law in 2025, created a Visa Integrity Fee of at least $250 for anyone who receives a nonimmigrant visa.² The charge sits on top of every other fee, and unlike the MRV fee it is collected only when a visa is actually approved.

The fee is refundable if you comply with the terms of your visa. Depart within five days of expiration, or extend your status or adjust to permanent residence, and you can get the $250 back after your visa expires.³ Overstay or take unauthorized work, and the money is forfeited.

As of mid-2025 the fee was not yet in force. A July 2025 Federal Register notice said cross-agency coordination is still required and that implementation will come in a later publication.³ Check the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi’s website before you apply. After fiscal year 2025 the amount adjusts for inflation, so the figure may rise above $250.

Extra Fee for Students and Exchange Visitors

If you’re applying for an F-1, M-1, or J-1 visa, you owe a separate I-901 SEVIS fee to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program before the State Department will issue your visa. This one goes to the Department of Homeland Security, not the embassy.⁴

$350 for F-1 and M-1 students.
$220 for J-1 exchange visitors.

You pay online at FMJfee.com. One catch specific to Kenya: students and exchange visitors with Kenyan citizenship or birth cannot pay by credit card on that site. You must use a money order, Western Union Quick Pay, or a certified check drawn on a U.S. bank.⁵ These methods take longer than a card, so start early.

Reciprocity Fees

Some countries charge U.S. citizens extra for visas, and the U.S. charges their nationals in return. For Kenyan applicants the reciprocity fee is zero for the most commonly sought categories, including B-1/B-2, F-1, J-1, H-1B, and L-1.⁶

The exceptions are certain work categories. Kenyan nationals approved for H-2A, H-2B, H-3, O-1 or O-2, P-1 through P-3, or Q-1 visas owe a $325 reciprocity fee on top of the $205 application fee.⁶ It is collected at the embassy only after your visa is approved, not upfront.

If You’re Applying for a Green Card

Immigrant visa applicants processed through the embassy in Nairobi pay different fees:¹

$325 for family-based immigrant visas.
$345 for employment-based immigrant visas.
$205 for diversity visa lottery winners and special immigrants.

After your immigrant visa is approved and you enter the United States, USCIS charges a separate $235 immigrant fee to produce your green card. The I-864 Affidavit of Support that your U.S.-based sponsor files currently has no filing fee.⁷

Immigrant visa applicants, and K-category fiancé and spouse applicants, must complete a medical examination by an embassy-approved panel physician before the interview.⁸ The embassy doesn’t set or collect the fee; you pay the clinic directly. Budget $100 to $250 or more depending on vaccinations and lab work required.

Costs That Don’t Go to the U.S. Government

A few other expenses are unavoidable even though the embassy doesn’t collect them.

Passport photos in the U.S. 2×2 inch format run roughly KES 500–700 (about $5) at a Nairobi studio. Use one familiar with U.S. visa specifications; a wrong background or head size can delay your application.

Certified translations are required for supporting documents not in English, such as birth certificates, transcripts, or police clearances. Rates typically run $30 to $60 per page for standard single-page documents, with less common language pairs costing more.

Every nonimmigrant applicant must complete the DS-160 online application before scheduling an interview.⁹ The form is free.

Interviews take place at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. If you live elsewhere in Kenya, factor in transport and possibly overnight accommodation, since appointments often start early. Courier delivery of your returned passport is another optional cost if you don’t want to pick it up in person.

How to Pay From Kenya

The MRV fee is paid through the visa appointment system at ustraveldocs.com. After you create an account and enter your details, you pick a payment method:¹⁰

M-Pesa. The system shows the exact KES amount at the consular exchange rate, and you send payment through Safaricom using the details at checkout.
Credit card, via Pesapal.
Cash, using a downloaded instruction sheet at a designated bank.

SEVIS fees are paid separately at FMJfee.com, and again, Kenyan nationals cannot use a credit card for that one.⁵ Reciprocity fees, when they apply, are collected at the embassy after approval.

How Long Your Payment Stays Valid

Once your MRV fee clears, you can book your interview. Nonimmigrant visa fee payments are valid for 365 days from the date of purchase.¹¹ Miss that window and the fee expires. You’ll have to pay again to reschedule.

1
Travel.State.Gov. Fees for Visa Services
2
CNBC. Visa Integrity Fee: What to Know About New Travel Fee to Enter the US
3
Alliance for International Exchange. Rollout Details and Timing of New Visa Integrity Fee Remain Unclear
4
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. I-901 SEVIS Fee
5
Study in the States. Paying the I-901 SEVIS Fee
6
U.S. Department of State. Kenya Visa Reciprocity and Civil Documents
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule
8
U.S. Department of State. U.S. Embassy Nairobi Immigrant Visa Medical Exam Instructions
9
Travel.State.Gov. DS-160 Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application
10
U.S. Department of State Visa Appointment Service. Visa Fees
11
U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic. How Long Do I Have to Schedule an Interview After I Pay My Visa Application Fee